At first listen, it’s easy to save every song from the Irish indie-rock quartet’s new EP to your music library. Community Spirit is filled with the perfect summer vibes for any occasion with a hint of 90’s movie nostalgia. Because who doesn’t want to brag that their summer “was a movie” on the first day of fall classes?
The EP takes The Academic back to the basics of its sound, four friends in a room making music. After being forced back home by the infamous pandemic, the boyband decided to capture the familiar feeling of home, and they revisited songs they had written when they were younger. The only song to be shared before the EP’s release, “Kids (Don’t End Up Like Me)” was written by frontman Craig Fitzgerald as a teenager, documenting his fears of never leaving his hometown or amounting to anything.
“I started looking through all my old notebooks and found this song fully written,” Craig said. “I had a gut feeling that it might come to life now with a few more years of living behind me since it was originally written.”
But the making of this EP wasn’t all familiar. The boys, Craig, Dean, Matthew and Stephen, were faced with challenges as their creative process was confronted by a pandemic, leading them to communicate via email because they couldn’t see each other. Community Spirit was also self-produced by Craig which gives the EP an authentic all-Academic feel.
While seemingly having all the time in the world to produce and tweak a song with self-production, the friends were all on the same page about not “overcooking” it. The added time due to isolation, lack of outside influences and history of working with notable producers like Nick Hodgson on past projects added to the pressure the band faced. But Craig’s production turned out DIY diamonds.
“We took everything we learned from these pros that we were lucky to work with and kind of applied it to the DIY thing, ” Craig said. “We have to trust that our playing is good, and that alone should be enough.”
The next challenge was physically finding somewhere to record. The band took DIY to a whole new level by recording at home in Stephen’s bedroom with at least one person in bed to make sure there was enough room.
“People toy around with the phrase bedroom pop a lot, but we took it very seriously, ” Stephen said jokingly.
The EP’s title, Community Spirit draws influences from Irish culture and the boys’ friendships with each other. It also refers to their time spent back at home with their families, relying on people to drive them around like when they were younger. Plus the making of the album at home gave them sounds from the community like Matthew and Stephen’s mom doing yard work or cooking at home that were edited out later, but still a crucial part of the process.
While the songs from The Academic’s EP are so good they can fit into any playlist, here’s how I think the five songs from Community Spirit would fit into your different summer occasions:
The EP opener, “Not Your Summer,” is a feel-good song that’s appealing to the masses. You’d most likely find this song played during the opening credits of your favorite summer romance flick introducing the coolest characters you wish you were like — or at least friends with. This new track would fit in the summer playlist you play at full volume at your community pool or local beach hangout spot with both kids and grandparents begging for a replay. It’s catchy, reflective of post-pandemic summer expectations but also reality. The lyrics, “Maybe it’s not your summer, maybe it’s not your year,” will have you feeling okay with the fact that hot girl summer isn’t going your way quite yet.
“Smart Mouth” calls for full volume summer screaming with your besties. It’s the perfect queue for those summer drives to the beach, convertible style. The repetitive couplets make it the easiest karaoke song to learn without the catchy lyrics ever getting stale. Plus the slamming drums and melody lead to endless head bopping and foot tapping as your body can’t help but move to the beat in your seat.
“I Don’t See Good” screams night summer drives and slow movie montage at a summer party scene. Just imagine a packed room of people yelling the chorus with their eyes closed, do you see the vision? If your imagination isn’t stretching that far, think back-of-the-truck-arms-out-free Charlie Kelmeckis style. It doesn’t matter if you’re in your hometown or crossing the Fort Pitt Bridge, any streetlights and night sky are the perfect occasion for “I Don’t See Good.”
If you’ve ever seen summer montage videos that fill you with jealousy, then you understand “For The Camera.” The track is filled with builds of adrenaline that burst through the chorus and give off shaky, authentic, friends-doing-dumb-shit -in-film-photos vibes.
Reminiscent of this song’s title, “Kids (Don’t End Up Like Me)” feels like the backing track to a young prank montage including sped up footage of kids bored in the heat of their hometown. It features more rock influences compared to the rest of the EP with hard-hitting drums and teen angst from Craig’s younger years. Just like the ending credits of your favorite movie, “Kids (Don’t End Up Like Me)” rounds off the EP on a high note filled with excitement to go out and live your young life while you still have it.
The four-piece described Community Spirit as “energetic, barebones and melancholic/reflective,” and although I couldn’t agree more, I would totally add the words “insanely catchy” to the mix. With guitar hooks that wedge themselves deep into your brain and heart-on-the-sleeve anthems, The Academic has established itself as the band of the summer.
Listen to The Academic’s new EP, Community Spirit, OUT NOW and create your own young summer scenarios (safely of course). 🙂
kasual kook xx
KASUAL KOOK 